Keeping up with a game throughout its development can be difficult. There’s always rumors and speculation about gameplay feature x and the involvement of company z. Keeping up with the rumors isn’t so hard, if you read the daily gaming news, but figuring out which of them were debunked and which were factual can be quite a chore for even the most attentive gaming news hound.
That’s why we decided to take this opportunity to sort out exactly what you can expect to see in the imminent RPG opus from Mistwalker Studios, Lost Odyssey.
– Produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who has been credited with involvement in all of the following games: Final Fantasy II-XII (including X-2), Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Vagrant Story, Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, and Blue Dragon. Quite an impressive list.
– Story being written by Kiyoshi Shigematsu. Japanese literature nuts may remember him as the 2001 Naoki Prize winner for his novel Vitamin F.
– Composer Nobuo Uematsu has been brought onboard to score the game. I think we’re all familiar enough with his work to make it pointless to list again here. If you’re unfamiliar, go pick up Final Fantasy VI.
– Heading up the artistic department is famous Japanese comic artist Takehiko Inoue. Fans of manga might know him for his works Chameleon Jail, Real, and his continued involvement in Shonen Jump magazine. In 2001 he was even awarded an "Excellence Award" from the Japanese Media Arts Foundation…seriously how many of you can say you were awarded an award purely for being, "excellent."
– The story takes place in a world that the author says is on the verge of a, "mystical industrial revolution.
– It follows Kaim, a deathless warrior who has lived for over a millennium. The story will, in many ways, revolve around this plot point, as issues of love, family, and death are explored throughout.
– Powered by Unreal Engine 3
Normally I wouldn’t include this next bit, but I simply can’t help myself, because the following is quite simply the best PR psychobabble I’ve ever come across in the games industry. Think of this as an insight into what it’s like trying to read press releases on a daily basis. A lot of times it is like you’re translating for the Crazy Cat Lady from the Simpsons. Here you are, your moment of Zen:
"Innovative RPG gameplay features. Lost Odyssey blends massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) elements into the game’s traditional RPG system, enabling players to make strategic decisions for a more immersive and deep gameplay experience."
